What began as an idea in the city state of Athens in ancient Greece, circa 500 BC, is now the most accepted form of public governance franchise across the globe. As our nascent democracy took roots on August 15, 1947, the task was upon the then leadership to create representative polity. It was an uphill task for we were a nation of diversity, broken over language, belief, custom and aspirations. Challenged with such odds, the constituent assembly, under the leadership of Dr B R Ambedkar, sought out to create a system of governance that would ricochet these thoughts in letter and spirit through times to come: Government of the people, by the people, for the People - a sentiment given by Abraham Lincoln and adopted world over. The assembly would create a testament that would be the guiding principle of our nation. The Indian Constitution. On 26th of January, 1950, our nation became a true democracy, replacing the GOI Act of 1935. Now an elaborate document, the current constitution contains 448 articles spread over 25 chapters. We celebrate this event every 26th January. However, what most of us dont realize is that this day is not just a day when we became a republic. But it is a day we swore that Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another… It is a day of the monumental triumph of human spirit- to grow beyond its circumstances and do more.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 03:12:59 +0000